Look at this messy baby: Photos capture a baby's first meals

By Daphne Sashin, CNN

Updated 1058 GMT (1858 HKT) September 14, 2015

Photographer Justin Tsucalas captures colorfully grotesque moments every parent will recognize in his series, <a href="http://lookatthismessybaby.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">"Look at this messy baby."</a> This was taken when his son Oliver started eating cereal Os, one of his first finger foods. "Needless to say, they didn't all make it into his mouth and Michele and I started finding them everywhere: in our bed, hidden in his onesies and buried in the carpet. They would explode under foot and so we affectionately coined them 'baby land mines.' "
Photos: Look at this messy baby
Photographer Justin Tsucalas captures colorfully grotesque moments every parent will recognize in his series, "Look at this messy baby." This was taken when his son Oliver started eating cereal Os, one of his first finger foods. "Needless to say, they didn't all make it into his mouth and Michele and I started finding them everywhere: in our bed, hidden in his onesies and buried in the carpet. They would explode under foot and so we affectionately coined them 'baby land mines.' "
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Oliver's teeth are key characters in the photo series, starting with the bottom two and quickly filling up his mouth over the next year.
Photos: Look at this messy baby
Oliver's teeth are key characters in the photo series, starting with the bottom two and quickly filling up his mouth over the next year.
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Tsucalas didn't realized how useful this type of bib was until it caught a homemade smoothie as it dripped slowly from his son's chin.
Photos: Look at this messy baby
Tsucalas didn't realized how useful this type of bib was until it caught a homemade smoothie as it dripped slowly from his son's chin.
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"Oliver never turned down a meal, even when he was having a 'no pictures please' moment," Tsucalas said.
Photos: Look at this messy baby
"Oliver never turned down a meal, even when he was having a 'no pictures please' moment," Tsucalas said.
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This picture was a turning point in the series, Tsucalas said. "A subtle smudge of a banana slice is somehow just as messy as a face full of pasta sauce."
Photos: Look at this messy baby
This picture was a turning point in the series, Tsucalas said. "A subtle smudge of a banana slice is somehow just as messy as a face full of pasta sauce."
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"Never underestimate the artistry of a face full of pasta sauce."
Photos: Look at this messy baby
"Never underestimate the artistry of a face full of pasta sauce."
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"This was an unsuccessful attempt at escaping from this kind of bib. Velcro latching bibs gave way easily when he pulled on them, but these just got tighter as he tugged. He ended up getting it wedged between his mouth and nose, spilling the trough full of food over his neck and back. Good try, bud."
Photos: Look at this messy baby
"This was an unsuccessful attempt at escaping from this kind of bib. Velcro latching bibs gave way easily when he pulled on them, but these just got tighter as he tugged. He ended up getting it wedged between his mouth and nose, spilling the trough full of food over his neck and back. Good try, bud."
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"My father has an unsavory habit of using his index finger to corral any remaining sauce or meat juices that might have escaped him during the meal and then licking it off his fingers at the table. Over the years this technique has rubbed off on my mom, sister, brother and myself ... This is the moment Michele and I began to wonder if it might be genetic."
Photos: Look at this messy baby
"My father has an unsavory habit of using his index finger to corral any remaining sauce or meat juices that might have escaped him during the meal and then licking it off his fingers at the table. Over the years this technique has rubbed off on my mom, sister, brother and myself ... This is the moment Michele and I began to wonder if it might be genetic."